I've decided I want to do TEFL as a career change. I'm looking to go early in the new year, but I'm not sure the best route to go down to get qualified. Here are the options I'm considering:

1. Doing the 'Thai Korea Project' with ATI - you go and do an intensive 4-week course in Thailand and then go straight into a guaranteed 1-year placing in Korea. (Roughly £450 for the course)

2. Doing the 120 hour i-to-i 'Weekend course' which is 20 hours in the classroom and 100 hours online. Afterwards, find work by applying to adverts online. (Roughly £500 for the course)

3. Doing a CELTA course part time at a local language school. Afterwards, find work by applying to adverts online (certain CELTA providers also offer help finding work).(Course is £900-£1300)

All options have pros and cons, I'm not sure how to weigh them up.

1. Seems to be the easiest option, but I have concerns about the guaranteed placement - I'm not sure about how much control I'd have over where I got placed, and how free I'd be to move schools if I really hated the one I got placed at. Also, not sure how widely recognised the certificate is.

2. This option gives me the freedom to choose where I work, and also leave without consequence if things are bad. But I'm not sure how widely recognised the certificate is.

3. This gives a certificate which is almost universally recognised. However, a part time course is 3-4 months, and there aren't any starting until August/September, so it'll be cutting it a bit fine if I want to find a job and fly out by January. If I don't go in January, I'm going to have all kinds of accomodation problems, or be stuck here for a few more months. Also, it's 2-3 times the cost of the other courses. Also, when I look at jobs it's quite rare for them to absoloutely require CELTA - seems a little like hunting mice with a cannon.

Any advice would be appreciated (even telling me how widely accepted the i-to-i certificate is would be a big help).

Being TEFL certified will certainly make you more marketable and it will also prepare you for the job.

CELTA is undoubtedly a popular qualification especially in Europe but it is also a fairly intensive certificate program in terms of finance, workload and commitment.

Training online is a viable option, many good schools around the world happily accept online TESL/TEFL Certificates issued by reputable organizations. So if you are looking for a way to get some basic training and a foot in the door, online training is an option worth considering.

Just make sure you choose a reliable course provider, and this applies to any course whether it is conducted online or onsite.

TEFL Course Review is a site where TESL/TEFL courses and course providers are independently reviewed and rated by those who have actually taken the course. It might help you separate the wheat from the chaff.

- 4 weeks is not a "fairly intensive" way of becoming a teacher, it is already just 10% of the training you would need to become a "proper teacher" in most countries of the world. Why any student deserves a teacher with even less training, I fail to understand- Most schools that accept people with online qualifications also accept people with no qualifications, and very few of them give any salary supplement for having an online qualification- Most schools have no idea which online qualifications are better than others

Having said that, if you really can't do a course with observed teaching practice and you still feel you are okay with charging people for your services as an English teacher, you should really get the most and best training you can of any kind, as well as reading lots of websites and (preferably) books on the topic